Plaster-block-making machine.



D. F. BERNHARDT. PLASTER BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15, 1916- Patented May15,1917.

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D. F BERNHARDT. PLASTER BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15,1916- 1 225 ?53, Patented May15,1917. 9 9 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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D. F. BERNHARDT. PLASTER BLOCK MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED APR.15,3915- I Patented May15, 1917.

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UNTTED TATE PATENT @FFTQE.

PLASTER-BLOCK-MAKING MACHINE.

Application filed April 15, 1916.

To aZZ ell/ mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID F. BERNHARDT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, New Brighton, borough of Richmond, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Plaster-Block-Making Machine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact de scription.

This invention relates to the art of mak ing plaster blocks for building purposes, and more particularly blocks of that type which are provided with air ducts or cells.

The invention has for its general objects to improve the process of block making so as to be more economical, expeditious and simple than methods heretofore employed.

Another object of the invention is to improve the construction and operation of maohines for making blocks so as to be reliable and efiicient in use, comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and keep in operative condition, and so designed that materials either dry or in a plastic state may be supplied continuously to the machine and the finished product delivered continuously therefrom.

in carrying out the invention the blocks are made by the automatic union of two slab-like traveling strips of plastic material which are separately formed in such a manner that when they are united they provide air channels or ducts, the union of the two strips taking place at such a point in transit through the machine that the material is still sufficiently moist or unset that, by pressing the strips together, there will be such a firm union as to result in an integral strip formed with complete channels extending therethrough, and this strip can be cut into sections at the delivery end of the machine to form the individual building blocks. To form and handle the individual strips separate traveling belts are employed which, when the material is fed dry to the machine, are so supported that portions of the belts constitute troughs wherein the dry material can be mixed with water, and the mixed material is conducted away from the trough-like portions and formed automatically into slab-like strips, which strips finally unite into a composite strip having longitudinal ducts or channels. At least one of the belts may be so constructed as to form the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 191%.

Serial No. 91,334.

channels while the other belt simply forms a flat strip, which, upon uniting with the channeled strip, produces the composite strip having the air ducts. The belt which forms the channels cooperates with a suit runs around its supporting or driving roller,

and also the lateral belts peel oil from the plastic strip at points where these belts pass around their rollers. In other words, the plastic strip-forming means consists of a plurality of traveling belts which automatically separate from the formed material. or stock. At the discharge end of the "forming belt a suitable table consisting of parallel rollers is provided, onto which the formed stock discharges, and from this it is trans ferred to the other strip-forming belt, whereby the two strips are caused to meet, and by a pressure roller or equivalent device the strips are compressed together to produce an integral bonding. From this point the length of the machine is such that the material will be sufliciently set that it can be cut into blocks.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of onehalf of the machine;

Fig. 1 is a similar view of the other half;

Figs. 2 and 2 are plan views of Figs. 1 and 2 respectively;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 33, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4c is a transverse section on the line 44, Fig. 1

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the channeled plaster strip made in the first part of the machine;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective View of the flat or unchanneled strip made at the intermediate part of the machine;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the finished product; and

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view showing a modified form of belts.

Referring to the drawing, A designates a frame of any approved construction and of any desired length. The receiving or starting end of the machine is at 1 and the delivery end at 2. At the front end of the machine and extending for a considerable length thereof is an endless forming belt B which passes around rollers or drums 3 and 4. The belt B is made of any suitable material and its outer surface is formed with longitudinal ribs 5 separated by channels 6. The ribs are of any desired shape and size and they serve to mold channels in the plaster strip which is formed by the belt. The upper flight of the belt is supported on suitably spaced parallel rolls 7 so that the said upper flight will be substantially horizontal. The lower flight of the belt is also supported on rolls 8. The mixed plaster is delivered to the belt B just above the drum 4 and it is continuously spread out even across the belt, so that as the latter travels a strip of plaster will be developed and at the drum 3 the strip will peel off the belt by reason of the curvature of the latter where it passes around the drum 3. The feed of material at the receiving end of the belt B will be continuous, and consequently there will be a continuous forming of a channeled strip. By the time the discharge end of the belt is reached the plaster will be pretty well set, but sufiiciently moist that it can be readily bonded with the completing strip which the channeled strip meets at a point just beyond the delivery end of the belt B. At opposite edges of the upper flight of the main belt B are lateral endless belts C which are supported by pulleys 9 and 10 which rotate on vertical axes, and these lateral belts serve to give the proper form to the side edges of the channeled plaster strip on the forming belt B. The rear ends of the belts C automatically peel off from the side edges of the plaster strip by reason of the belts passing around the pulleys 9.

Any desired means may be employed for mixing the material and depositing it on the receiving end of the forming belt B. In the present instance a continuously operating automatic mixer is disclosed. This comprises an endless belt D which has its ends supported by drums or pulleys 11 and 12, and the upper flight of this belt D is so supported that it will form a trough sagging considerably at the center, both longitudinally and transversely. Into this trough dry material is supplied through a funnel or equivalent device E, and water is delivered by a pipe 13 which has a horizontal apertured sprayer 14: extending transversely across the belt D adjacent the center. Directly under the sprayer 14 is a suitably shaped drum 15 rotatably mounted and serving to assist in the proper mixing of the material and evening the same out across the belt. The mixed material travels in a direction indicated by the arrows, Fig. 1, and it continuously discharges onto the forming belt B. Any suitable arrangement of rollers 16 may be employed to give a transverse trough-like form to the upper flight of the belt D. The lower flight of this belt runs in close proximity to the upper flight of the forming belt B, so that this lower flight of the belt D will serve to compress the plastic material firm into the channels of the belt B, and also serves to produce a flat surface on the top side of the plaster strip. To insure the proper cleaning of the belt B, the latter runs in a trough or box 17 which contains water, which box may be located directly under the drum 1. The belt B is driven in such a. manner that the upper flight will move to the left, as does the lower flight of the belt D, and the lineal speed of the two belts is the same. driven in such a manner that the inner flights thereof will travel to the left, Fig. 1, and at the same speed as the belts B and D. Any suitable means may be employed to drive these various belts in synchronism.

The channeled plaster strip S has the form shown in Fig. 5 when it is discharged from the belt B. It is in the form of a fiat strip having depending marginal intermediate ribs .9 so spaced apart as to form channels 5, and this strip is adapted to meet a flat strip S shown in Fig. 6, whereby, upon the uniting of the two strips, the finished product shown in Fig. 7 is produced, wherein the strip S is shown as having longitudinal air .ducts The flat strip S is formed on an endless belt F which has its upper flight so disposed and supported as to form a mixing trough f at the portion under the delivery end of the forming belt B, and a flat conveying and drying portion 7 which is approximately on the same level with the upper flight of the belt B. The two portions and f are connected by a rearwardly inclined portion 7, whereby the mixed ma terial is raised to a level of the channeled strip delivered from the belt B. Directly over the portion f is a supporting table G for the channeled strip, this table consisting of a plurality of parallel rollers 18 which serve to transfer this channeled strip to the straight portion 7 of the belt F. The ends of the belt F pass around pulleys or drums 19 and 20, and the intermediate portion of the upper flight passes over a pulley or drum 21 which is directly at the rear edge of the table Gr. Over this drum is a pres- The lateral belts C are i sure roll 22 which serves to force the two strips of plaster together, whereby an integral bonding will take place, it being understood that both strips are more or less moist, so that there can be a firm coalescing as the bonded strips travel rearwardly. lhe channeled strip formed on the belt B will be less moist and more firmly set than the strip formed on the belt In other words, the strip of plaster on the belt B has a long period of travel from the point of deposit of material on such belt to the table G, whereas the strip of plaster on the belt F has a relatively short line of travel from the trough to the point where the two plaster strips are united. A more effective union is thus obtained, by reason of one plaster strip being more plastic or moist than the other. Between the rolls 21 and 15) the material hardens or sets, and where the belt passes around the roll 19 the finished strip peels off and passes over a delivery table H. At this point a suitable means may be located for transversely cutting the strip into blocks, such means being a suitably mounted saw or knife I, Fig. 1. The lower flight of the belt 1 passes through a water box or tank 23 which cleans the same.

The material of which the flat strip is formed on the belt F may be supplied in a dry state to the trough portions f by means of a conveyer J located adjacent the middle of the machine, and the water is supplied through a spraying or jet device K. The trough portion 7 of the belt F is given its desired shape by suitably arranged rollers 24.

In Fig. 8 the belt B has side flanges so as to give shape to the side edges of the strip of plastic material formed thereon, obviating the necessity of side belts, and furthermore, the belt D is formed with corrugations so that the lower flight will cause the upper surface of the strip of plastic material formed on the belt B to have corresponding corrugations for producing a better clenching surface on the block.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, together with the machine which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood. that the machine shown is merely illustrative ard that such changes may be made when desired as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A machine of the class described com- &

prising an endless belt having an external forming surface, an endless belt disposed over the first-mentioned belt and having its upper flight forming a mixing trough from which material is conducted to the firstmentioned bolt continuously and having its lower flight in close proximity to the upper flight of the first-mentioned belt to apply pressure to the material delivered to the latter.

.2. A machine of the class described comprising an endless belt having an external forming surface. an endless belt disposed over the first-mentioned belt and having its upper flight forming a mixing trough from which material is conducted to the firstmentioned belt continuously, and traveling means at the edges of the belts to give shape to the lateral edges of the strip of plastic material.

3. A machine of the class described comprising an endless belt having an external forming surface, and an endless belt disposed over the first-mentioned belt and having its upper flight forming a mixing trough from which material is conducted to the first-mentioned belt continuously.

4:. A machine of the class described comprising a traveling former, an endless belt disposed over the former with its lower flight in close proximity thereto to serve as a pressure applying means to the strip of material formed on the former, the upper flight of the belt being supported to form a mixing trough from which material feeds continuously to the former by the travel of the belt, and means for supplying dry material and liquid to the trough.

5. A machine of the class described comprising a traveling former, an endless belt disposed over the former with its lower flight in close proximity thereto to serve as a pressure applying means to the strip of material formed on the former, the upper flight of the belt being supported to form a mixing trough from which material feeds continuously to the former by the travel of the belt, means for supplying dry material to the trough, a rotary drum extending across the trough to act on the material therein, and .a water supplying device disposed over the drum and discharging water onto the drum and into the trough.

6. A machine of the class described comprising separate mechanisms, one mechanism including means for forming a strip of plastic material and the other mechanism including means for forming a channeled strip of plastic material, said means having portions arranged adjacent each other, whereby the strip discharges from one means to the strip on the other, and means for pressing the strips together.

7 A machine of the class described comprising a mechanism for producing a channeled plaster strip, a mechanism for producing a second strip, said mechanisms being positioned for discharging the strips to a common point of meeting, means for pressing the strips together to effect a bond ing, and means for continuously supplying plastic material to the said mechanisms.

8. A machine of the class described comprising a mechanism for producing a channeled plaster strip, a mechanism for producing a second strip, said mechanisms discharging the strips to a common point of meeting, means for pressing the strips together to effect a bonding, means for continuously supplying plastic material to the said mechanisms, and means for cutting the bonded strips into sections.

9. The combination of an endless traveling belt for forming plastic material into a channeled strip, an endless belt for forming plastic material into a strip and located to deliver such strip to the strip formed by Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by

the first mentioned belt, and means for compressing the strips together at the point of meeting.

10. A machine of the class described comprising a mechanism for producing a strip from plastic material, an endless belt having a portion formed into a carrier and another portion formed into a mixing trough, means for supplying material to be mixed to the said trough, whereby the material will automatically form into a strip as the belt travels, means for conducting the strip from the said mechanism to the carrier portion of the said belt and to meet the strip passing from the trough, means for pressing the strips together toeffect a union, and means for cutting the united strips into sections.

DAVID FREDRIUK BERNHARDT.

In the presence of- KARL E. STAIGER, HENRY VVILLIAMs.

addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, I). C. 

